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AFL ranked first, NRL second and soccer third in eBay Australia’s 2023 list of interests Perth residents engaged with and discussed online. The results, reported by PerthNow on 21 September 2023, are a snapshot of online activity—not a ranking of what Perth residents bought or a current measure of their favourite pastimes.
Which Perth interests made the published rankings?
PerthNow reported that eBay Australia’s study drew on more than 16 million social-media posts and search-engine data. Its coverage identifies the following Perth positions:
| Reported rank | Interest |
|---|---|
| 1 | AFL |
| 2 | NRL |
| 3 | Soccer |
| 7 | Gaming |
| 41 | Four-wheel-driving and off-roading |
| 47 | Fish and aquariums |
| 56 | Coffee |
These are the positions stated in the PerthNow report. Its accessible text does not provide the complete Perth top 100, so the entries above should not be mistaken for a full ranking.
What does “obsessed” mean in this list?
“Obsessed” is the report’s headline framing. The study is described as identifying interests, hobbies and passions Australians spent time engaging with and discussing online. It is not presented as a ranking of eBay sales, eBay searches alone, purchases by Perth residents, survey responses about favourite activities, or the number of people who practise each hobby.
#1 Best Overall
Online attention is a proxy for interest, not a headcount. A topic can attract many posts or searches because of a major event, news coverage or a particularly active online community. The report does not establish how much each factor contributed to a ranking.
Sports dominated the reported Perth results
The top three Perth entries were all sports: AFL, NRL and soccer. The report also says sport accounted for 22% of online social conversations in the analysis. That figure describes the study’s social-conversation measure; it does not mean that 22% of Perth residents follow sport or spend 22% of their internet time on it.
Rank #2
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The article linked soccer interest partly to the Matildas’ 2023 Women’s World Cup run. That is context offered in the coverage, not proof that the tournament caused soccer’s position or that soccer would rank as highly outside that period.
Other interests included niche hobbies
Alongside the ranked entries, the report mentions UFC, anime, pottery and bird watching as examples of niche interests appearing in the top 100. It does not state their Perth-specific positions in the accessible text, so no ranks can be assigned to them here.
What the report said about Australians’ time and spending
PerthNow also included broader Australian findings, which should not be read as Perth-only statistics:
- More than 93% of surveyed people reportedly spent at least one hour a week on their “thing”.
- 83.2% reportedly spent up to $4,000 a year on it.
- 27.5% reportedly had considered or were considering turning their interest into a side hustle.
The accessible coverage does not give the survey sample size or full question wording. It also does not clarify whether the $4,000 figure represents an average, median or spending ceiling, so it should not be treated as a typical budget for any particular hobby.
Rank #4
The Matildas scarf sales figure is a separate eBay measure
The report said Matildas scarf sales on eBay rose 2,650% over two days during the 2023 Women’s World Cup period. This is a specific marketplace sales comparison for scarves and a short time window—not a measure of soccer participation, Perth purchases or the study’s overall interest ranking.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What eBay and a psychologist said about hobbies
eBay Australia chief marketing officer Rebecca Newton framed the findings around communities formed through shared passions, citing interests such as sneaker collecting and pre-loved fashion. Her comments reflect eBay’s perspective as a marketplace whose business is connected to what people buy and sell.
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Suzy Green, founder of the Positive Psychology Institute, said hobbies and special interests can create positive emotions, offer a mental break from stress and become part of a person’s identity. These are her expert comments about the potential value of interests; the Perth ranking itself did not test wellbeing outcomes.
What the published data cannot establish
The accessible PerthNow coverage does not specify the exact data period, social platforms analysed, geographic definition of Perth, treatment of duplicate or automated posts, method for grouping topics, or formula used to rank them. It therefore is not possible to reproduce or independently validate the positions from the article alone. The study was released by eBay Australia, and the findings are best understood as branded research reported in 2023—not an independent census of Perth leisure or consumer behaviour.
The result is useful as a dated picture of what drew online attention: major codes of football led, while gaming, off-roading, fishkeeping and coffee appeared further down the published list. It should not be read as a definitive or up-to-date inventory of what Perth residents enjoy.
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